Instrument for stitching hollow organs

Claim 1

AN INSTRUMENT FOR STITCHING HOLLOW ORGANS WITH STAPLES, SAID INSTRUMENT COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BODY TERMINATING AT THE FORWARD END IN A JAW PORTION AND AT THE REAR END IN AN ENLARGED GENERALLY RECTANGULAR YOKE HAVING SIDEWALLS DISPOSED OUTWARDLY OF THE SIDEWALLS OF SAID BODY AND A REAR END WALL SPACED FROM THE REAR END OF SAID BODY TO PROVIDE A VERTICAL PASSAGE THROUGH SAID YOKE, SAID REAR END WALL HAVING AN UPWARDLY OPENING NOTCH, SAID BODY HAVING AN UPWARDLY OPENING CHANNEL EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID JAW PORTION AND SAID YOKE, THE BOTTOM WALL OF SAID CHANNEL BEING REMOVED BETWEEN SAID YOKE AND A POINT INTERMEDIATE THE LENGTH OF SAID BODY TO PROVIDE A VERTICAL SLOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE PASSAGE IN SAID YOKE, SAID JAW PORTION COMPRISING AN ELONGATED MEMBER FIXED TO THE LOWER FORWARD EDGE OF SAID BODY AND TERMINATING IN AN UPSTANDING FIXED JAW, STAPLE CLINCHING ANVILS ON THE REAR SURFACE OF SAID FIXED JAW AND AN UPSTANDING LONGITUDINAL RIB ON SAID MEMBER BETWEEN SAID BODY AND SAID FIXED JAW, UPSTANDING, SPACED, ELONGATED EARS ON THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID BODY ADJACENT SAID JAW PORTION, SAID EARS HAVING OPPOSED INWARDLY OPENING GROOVES, AN ELONGATED HOLLOW BAR REMOVABLY AND SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN SAID CHANNEL, SAID BAR TERMINATING AT THE FORWARD END IN AN ENLARGED GENERALLY RECTANGULAR HOLLOW HEAD OPEN AT THE FORWARD END AND RECEIVED IN SAID JAW PORTION AND HAVING A GROOVE IN THE LOWER EDGE SLIDABLY RECEIVING SAID RIB, LUGS ON SAID HEAD SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN THE GROOVES IN SAID EARS, FORWARDLY AND UPWARDLY EXTENDING VERTICALLY SPACED L-SHAPED SLOTS IN THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID HEAD, A STAPLE MAGAZINE COMPRISING AN ELONGATED BLOCK HAVING A PLURALITY OF VERTICALLY SPACED SLOTS FOR RECEIVING STAPLES, SAID BLOCK BEING RECEIVED IN THE FORWARD END OF SAID HEAD, PINS ON SAID BLOCK ENGAGING SAID L-SHAPED SLOTS, THE LOWER END OF SAID BLOCK ENGAGING SAID RIB TO PREVENT DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID BLOCK AND REMOVAL OF SAID PINS FROM SAID L-SHAPED SLOTS, THE SLOTS IN SAID BLOCK BEING DISPOSED OPPOSITE SAID ANVILS, THE REAR END OF SAID BAR TERMINATING IN A THREADED PORTION, A NUT ON SAID THREADED PORTION, A PORTION OF SAID NUT BEING RECEIVED IN SAID NOTCH AND HAVING AN ANNULAR GROOVE RECEIVING THE SIDEWALL OF SAID NOTCH, WHEREBY ROTATION OF SAID NUT WILL MOVE SAID HEAD TOWARD OR AWAY FROM SAID FIXED JAW, A FIXED HANDLE ON SAID BAR PROJECTING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID VERTICAL SLOT IN SAID BODY, PROJECTIONS ON SAID HANDLE SLIDABLY ENGAGING THE LOWER EDGE OF SAID BODY, SAID LUGS AND SAID PROJECTIONS SERVING TO RETAIN SAID BAR IN SAID CHANNEL, DOWNWARDLY EXTENDING SPACED PLATES ON SAID BAR ADJACENT SAID HANDLE, DOWNWARDLY OPENING ALIGNED SLOTS IN SAID PLATE, SAID BAR HAVING A VERTICAL APERTURE BETWEEN SAID PLATES, A STAPLE DRIVER COMPRISING AN ELONGATED ROD SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN SAID BAR AND TERMINATING AT THE FORWARD END IN A DRIVER MEMBER SLIDABLY RECEIVED IN SAID HEAD, A PLURALITY OF STAPLE DRIVING FINGERS ON SAID DRIVER MEMBER ALIGNED WITH THE SLOTS IN SAID MAGAZINE, THE REAR END OF SAID ROD HAVING A VERTICAL OPENING IN ALIGNMENT WITH SAID APERTURE, AN ACTUATING HANDLE HAVING A PIVOT PIN REMOVABLY RECEIVED IN THE SLOTS IN SAID PLATES, THE UPPER END OF SAID ACTUATING HANDLE EXTENDING THROUGH SAID APERTURE AND OPENING AND A RETURN SPRING ON SAID ACTUATING HANDLE ENGAGING AN ABUTMENT ON SAID FIXED HANDLE, WHEREBY UPON OPERATION OF SAID ACTUATING HANDLE SAID FINGERS WILL SIMULTANEOUSLY EJECT STAPLES FROM ALL OF THE SLOTS IN SAID MAGAZINE.